


Heartbeat

by theangelsarefalling



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Horses, Original Character(s), Supernatural - Freeform, Werewolf, Werewolves, super powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-26 15:42:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18182537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theangelsarefalling/pseuds/theangelsarefalling
Summary: It's the middle of November when Lillian Stager moves back to Beacon Hills; the crisp autumn air stirring a strange strength deep in her chest. After a near-deadly mishap involving a jet-black Camero, Lillian meets Derek Hale.As a tight bond builds between the two, the tranquillity is totalled by a murder and the revelation of more than a few secrets. Derek and Lillian are forced to face that staying together becomes a challenge when you don't know who to trust.





	Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This book is my pride and joy and was originally posted on Wattpad. But I think I like A03 better as a platform so here she is!
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> \- TAAF

_Tha-thum_ _p._  
  
_Tha-thump._

_Tha-thump._

I counted the still slow, steady beats of my heart in my head as I ran: calculating.

I, as well as most everyone in my family, had a heart condition, known as bradycardia, which meant my heart beat slower than that of an average human.

Normal heart rates ranged from sixty to one hundred beats per minute at rest.

My average heartbeat was thirty-five beats per minute.

It wasn't slow enough to cause real problems, but it definitely was noticeable.

Due to this, I didn't really have much say in the matter of whether or not I should exercise, even if it meant going out at dusk for a run.

As a girl or a woman, a person of the female gender, the idea that I shouldn't go out alone was drilled into my head since  _forever_.

I was not a person who liked being told what to do, but I wouldn't say so out loud.

In any case, because of this rebellion, combined with years of training in martial arts, I found myself out running as the sun went down and the moon came up.

Despite the fact that I had been officially living in the town of Beacon Hills for less than forty-eight hours, I decided running would be a good option for exercise.

This way, I could explore a little more of the land surrounding my own new property.

I'd been to Beacon Hills plenty of times before but the only places I knew well, were the land that was now mine, formerly my late grandfather's, and Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski's respective houses.

When I was little, Dad got a job here, as the Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital had a need for a general surgeon with a specialty in oncology at the time.

Scott's mom was a chief nurse at the hospital presently, and that was how they became friends. Melissa always said my dad was 'the only surgeon at Beacon Hills Memorial who treated her like a person instead of a slave'.

Apparently, most surgeons weren't kind.

I definitely could believe it: most were narcissistic perfectionists, to put it bluntly. They were the rulers of the hospital at which they worked and whatever they said, went. Other than Melissa and a few others, my dad didn't really have many friends from work.

Melissa was probably his best work-friend, and since Scott was only a few years younger than me, it made sense to spend time together.

How I knew Stiles was another story.

As I continued to run, trying to pick up my pace, my heart picked up its pace too, but only just.

By the time I came across a path into the woods, hardly worn in at all, covered in fallen leaves pressed deeper into the ground than others around them, my pulse was up by five more beats.

Though my chest stung when I breathed, there was something about running that was extremely appealing to me.

_I can, and I will._

That was an idea that often went through my head when I was doing anything, be it sparring with someone, riding my horse Ophelia, or climbing to the top of a building.

The latter was only illegal or frowned upon  _if_  I got caught.

As of yet, I had not.

I made my way down said wooded path, keeping my eyes open. Ahead of me, was an old maple tree, the branches of which were thick and long, stretching up toward the darkening sky.

I narrowed my eyes as I saw a deep carving in the light bark of the tree, drawing me closer, curious as to what the carving read.

**_DH & PK_ **

Those initials were encompassed by a heart, as I assumed that they were the initials of some couple who came upon the tree.

It must've been years before, because the carving now had lichen grown into it, snaking up the rest of the bark as well.

I glanced down the continuing path, debating whether to keep following down or to turn back while there was still some light, keeping my ears alert to sound.

I knew I thought that, but I didn't expect that I would actually hear anything.

I was incorrect.

At first, it was merely the snap of a twig underfoot, a foot I thought was my own.

I realized I was incorrect again.

I did my best not to tense up, eyeing my darkening surroundings. I didn't see anything, save for the canopy of bare trees and shrubs around.

I knew I wasn't going to be that person to call "hello?" in a trembling voice like a fragile little thing, but I was curious.

Maybe it was a squirrel.

Or maybe it was a rabbit.

Then I heard a lowly, animalistic huff which did actually cause me to physically jump.

" _Goddammit_." I hissed to myself, as some kind of sense that there was something behind came over me.

As I turned, it became apparent to me that the _something_ was far bigger than a squirrel or rabbit.

Ever-so-slowly, I inched my gaze over my shoulder, to see a shadowy figure, that caused chills to shoot up my spine.

I had no idea what the hell the thing was, just that it had claws and sharp teeth bared at me.

As a veterinarian's assistant, I knew not to run from bears, dogs or wolves, I would never be able to outrun any one of those creatures on my own two feet.

 _Ever_.

My legs began to shake, as I racked my brain of what to do.

I wasn't wearing a coat, which normally I would use to make myself look bigger and scare the thing off. I couldn't walk away, it would likely chase me.

From what I could tell, the thing, whatever it was, as big as it was, resembled a wolf, from the way it carried the bulk of it's weight in its haunches and back.

I'd met coyotes before, I hadn't died yet. However, this thing was  _way_  bigger than a coyote.

But the  _one thing_  I did better than a wolf, was climb, because no wolf could get traction with its paws like I could: one of the perks of having opposable thumbs.

There was also no way a wolf spent as much time climbing things like I did.

And there was conveniently a very tall tree right in front of me.

Once I'd come to my decision, I launched myself as hard as I could off the damp forest floor, taking hold of the branches above my head, before swinging upwards into the tree.

I wasted no time climbing higher: only when I was about fifteen feet off the ground did I look down.

"Holy  _shit_ ," I exclaimed, observing the wolf-like animal growling, on its hind legs pressed up against the base of the tree.

Based on the size of it, I was sure the tree would fall before it got up to where I was and attack me, though it was clawing away at the bark. Even so, I was prepared to jump to the nearest tree next to the one I was in.

I still couldn't see how it would be able to climb in the first place, it was so very unlikely that it'd be able to get enough grip, even though its claws were leaving scars in the tree.

It let out a powerful bellow, raising its head toward the sky, the sound carrying almost enough force to knock me out of the damn tree.

If it had been a regular wolf, it likely would've howled, yet it was roaring like a freaking dinosaur.

Thus, I was confused and absolutely terrified.

I clung to the tree like a cat, eyes wide as I watched the wolf-bear gradually seem to lose interest in me.

After a while of the two of us staring at each other though I could barely see the thing, my brawny body trembling, the dark creature turned on its hind and loped away, deeper into the forest.

As it's paw-steps receded, so did my panic.

I stayed up in the branches for a while afterwards, contemplating what the hell just happened.

My next thought was of what I would do next.

Basically what I came up with, was "get down and run like hell".

I thought it was a pretty fine idea, I was fairly certain the wolf, or whatever it was, was gone.

Thus, I dropped from the tree after climbing down to about seven or eight feet, landing with soft knees on the ground.

With that I took off like a shot, running as fast as I could back the way I came.

It was the last of the adrenaline in coursing through my body that kept me going at such a quick pace.

I reached the road, off to the side of a long, rocky driveway to the "Beacon Hills Preserve", a different path than I'd come down first. I felt a sharp pain in my left foot, and I couldn't bring it forward for another step.

I had barely a nano-second before I realized what had happened, my momentum dragging me down hard against the now-gravel ground.

I hit the turf has hard as I could with my forearms flat, doing the best break-fall I could to save myself a broken nose as a result of a face plant smack in the middle of the driveway.

Violently, I jerked back to investigate what I tripped on.

Wrapped around my foot, were shining silver strands, lined with small spikes, lying loose next to the end of a fence.

 _Jesus_.

To this day I didn't understand why the hell people used barbed wire fences, given how dangerous they were for livestock and people, not that this fence was used for livestock anyhow. 

I hastily untangled my foot, barely able to see what I was doing because of the lack of light, mangling my hands in the process, staining my left shin with gleaming blood.

Suddenly, I  _could_  see.

Bright lights from the road lit up my body, the wire gleaming brilliantly. Those lights were of a sleek black car with their turn-signal flashing, moving quickly as there weren't any other cars on the road.

The person in the car was signalling their intention to turn: into the driveway I was sprawled in.

With urgent need, I waved my bleeding hands wildly to save myself from being run over into a pancake.

" _STOP_!" I screamed at the absolute top of my lungs, hoping to God that the driver could hear me, the car curving off the road toward me. "STOP THE CAR!"

As if by some miracle, the shiny black machine came to a halt right in front of me, the driver's wide eyes just barely illuminated by the glow of the dashboard.

Seconds later, the door of the Camaro swung open, and a leather-jacket-wearing man revealed himself.

"What are you doing sitting in the middle of the driveway?" He asked skeptically, surprising me as I thought I would seem more sensible than to sit in a driveway for no reason.

"I tripped." I snapped, getting back to work on the wire.

I could hear the crunch of his shoes against the ground as he approached, tensing slightly.

I flicked my gaze back to him, the headlights casting almost haunting shadows across his chiselled face, his green eyes glinting  _iridescently_.

"Do you need help?" He asked, peering down at me with dark eyebrows, which matched his spiky hair, raised. "I'm Derek, by the way."

"That's nice, but no," I replied curtly, averting my eyes once more. "I'm fine."

"You're bleeding."

"Yeah, I am," I agreed, nodding sarcastically, squinting back up at him as I finally untangled myself, sweeping to my feet as gravel-dust clouded around us. "But I'll live. I'd be more worried about getting a flat tire from this."

I kicked the wire off the road haphazardly with my foot, feeling disdain for the metal.

"Good to know."

"Oh, and I ran into a wolf-bear-thing a few minutes ago, so try to be careful," I added, preparing to leave.

"A wolf?" Derek repeated, his eyes narrow.

"Or something," I confirmed, not even sure myself what I saw.

"You should go--" Derek changed his tune from being more-or-less friendly to wary all of a sudden, making my own expression waver uncertainly.

"That's the plan," I informed him before turning on my heel and taking off before all the light from the sun was gone.

I began sprinting as though my life depended on it, away from Derek, to my safe place.

Home.

 


End file.
